Bulbulay
Bulbulay (Urdu: بلبلے, English: Bubbles) is a Pakistani family sitcom about an unconventional Pakistani family. The show is directed by Rana Rizwan, written by Ali Imran and Saba Hassan, and produced by Nabeel, who also played the lead character of the show. The show gained popularity after the introduction of Hina Dilpazeer, who plays Mumtaz (Momo). Bulbulay was first aired 22 October 2009 on ARY Digital and was later broadcast on ARY Digital in the UK. It is a successful sitcom with a high TRP, and it holds the record for the longest-running television series of Pakistan. In July 2017 the series went off-air and did not return to air on ARY Digital. Instead, starting 7 May 2019, the show began airing new episodes on BOL Entertainment under the title of Phir Bulbulay but was halted quickly due to copyright issues, as BOL was not allowed to air the comedy serial. Bulbulay (season 2) began to air on ARY Digital after Eid ul Fitr 2019, and airs a weekly episode every Sunday evening. Plot Season 1 Most episodes are about Nabeel and his friends being conned, robbed, or just having bad luck. Every episode ends with the family being ripped off, or either of the men getting a beating from his wife for flirting with other women. The story line starts off with Nabeel and Mehmood living in an apartment as bachelors and progresses to both of them getting married and having children. The show is known to break the fourth wall all the time. Episode 1-25 (before marriage) Nabeel's childhood friend Ahmad moves abroad and tells Nabeel to look after his apartment. Nabeel takes advantage of this and starts living in the apartment as landlord and rents out a room to Mehmood. Khoobsoorat, who ran away from her wedding just fifteen minutes before it took place, arrives at the same apartment looking for her friend Saima, who is married to Ahmed. Although Nabeel first tells her she cannot move in, he changes his mind after she threatens to tell Saima about the misuse of the apartment. When Khoobsoorat's father, Siddiqui, comes to take her back, she tells him that she is married to Nabeel to stop him. When Nabeel's mother, Mumtaz, comes to visit him, he says that Khoobsoorat is the housemaid, as his mother would not accept his living together with a woman. Later in the series, Khubsoorat's father finds out his daughter is unmarried and informs her that he is coming to take her back home. Nabeel's mother comes to visit her son and tells him that Khoobsoorat is a good girl and that they should get married. When she asks Khubsoorat, Khubsoorat is shocked and decides to leave. Later, Nabeel tells Khoobsoorat that he really loves her and had fallen in love with her when he saw her for the fourth time (chothi nazar main); and, so, he wants to marry her. Mehmood and Mumtaz start to like each other and want to get married. At Nabeel and Khubsoorat's marriage, after their nikah is read, Mehmood announces he will marry Mumtaz and tells the qadi to wait and read their nikah as well. Nabeel is shocked by this and feels very uncomfortable about his mother being close to Mehmood. At this moment, Siddiqi arrives to cancel his daughter's wedding. When Nabeel tells him that the nikah is already read, he gets really angry. Episode 26-82 (after marriage) (Nabeel's mother becomes a regular cast member after episode 25.) Soon after the couples get married, Ahmad calls Nabeel to tell him he has found someone who will move into the apartment, which means that they have to move out. Luckily, Khubsoorat's father arranges for a new place for them to live and pays in advance, so that they do not struggle. He also finds a job for Nabeel; but Nabeel quits, saying he is made for much bigger things and will not work for anyone who does not see his true potential. Episode 83-87 (Bulbulay in Dubai) The Bulbulay family goes on a trip to Dubai but without telling each other. Nabeel and Khoobsurat win a trip to Dubai from a lucky draw. Mehmood and Mumtaz go to Dubai for their honeymoon, with their own money. They happen to be booked into the same hotel. While walking in the hall, Nabeel and Mehmood bump into each other; they pretend that they don't know each other and rush back to their rooms. When both families have plans to go to the Oasis Mall, and both Mehmood and Nabeel are taking showers in their rooms, Khoobsurat and Mumtaz (Momo) wait for them in the hotel lobby and see each other clearly. Momo goes out of the hotel to avoid Khoobsurat and rushes off to the mall in a taxi. Khoobsurat, Nabeel, and Mehmood go to find her. After they're reunited, they go to Ibn Battuta Mall the next day, where they meet FM radio producers and are offered jobs that don't work out. Episode 88-100 (pre-parenthood) While returning home from Dubai, Momo loses her bag at the airport. Khoobsurat becomes ill and the others start avoiding her in the fear of catching her disease. Later, Khoobsurat is found to be pregnant, shortly after which Momo also becomes pregnant. Most of the episodes involve the family making preparations for the arrival of their children. Nabeel, however, is unhappy that his mother is having a baby at her age. These episodes also show their pre-parenthood lifestyle in the holy month of Ramadan. On the 100th, Eid-Special episode, Momo and Khoobsurat give birth to a baby son and daughter, respectively. From episode 88 Faizan Shahzad Khan joined Team Bulbulay as associate director and actor. Episode 101-139 (parenthood) Both couples become parents. Mehmood Sahab and Momo name their son Sona, which means gold; and Khoobsurat and Nabeel name their daughter Chaandi, which means silver. These episodes involve events taking place after Sona and Chaandi's births. Nabeel and Mehmood are pressured by their wives to take up jobs to support their children. When the children are admitted into school, the couples compete to see who can provide better for their children. Episode 140-143 (Bulbulay in Lahore) The family races to Lahore to visit Khoobsurat's father, Siddiqui, whom they cannot contact and are worried about. Meanwhile, Siddiqui is getting married to a women named Baytab. At first Siddiqui hides her from them, but eventually Nabeel and Mehmood Sahab find out. Episode 205-209 (Bulbulay again in Lahore) The family have returned to Lahore. In episode 205, Siddiqui invites Khoobsurat and Baytab to his new house in Lahore; but before leaving, Baytab misplaces the address. In episode 206, the fun starts, when they all get to Siddiqui's new house. Episode 210-217 They return to Karachi. Episode 218-260 They are normal, with performances by Momo and Nabeel. Episode 268-273 (rich) They become rich because of the jinn Ibn e Battuta, a fan of Momo. A magician imprisoned him in a bottle. In episode 273, the kidnappers Tome and Moti arrive at the new location and kidnap Nabeel. Momo told them that all their wealth is in the bottle. They open the bottle and the jinn appears. Episode 274-297 (poor) The jinn took all the wealth back and the family became poor. In episode 297, Javed Sahab arrives at the new location of Bulbulay to take the family back to the old location. Episode 298-455 (back to the classic Bulbulay) They return to Javed Sahab's's house. Siddiqui pays Javed the family's rent. The family realizes that the Ramadan moon has appeared, and episode 298 is all about the family making Siddiqui do all their work because he isn't fasting. It's back to the situations of the early episodes in which Nabeel and his family have bad luck. In episode 455, the family decides to go to a world tour. Special episodes Bubbles Show special was a two-hour episode (live show) in which the Bulbulay characters were live on ARY Digital, where they met their fans who were present there and took calls from those who weren't. The Bulbulay characters were highly appreciated by their fans. On 20 May 2016 the cast and writer Ali Imran were invited on ARY Digital morning show Good Morning Pakistan to celebrate 400 episodes of Bulbulay. Season 2 Episode 1 (shifting to new house) The Bulbulay family shifts to the new house. When Momo and Khoobsurat entered the house, there were two strangers in the house. Momo and Khoobsurat thought they were robbers. They told Nabeel and Mehmood Sahab. Momo then knocked out the strangers. Then a person told them that those two people were knaves who didn't pay rent for the house. They were very dangerous people who were caught by the police after the police had been searching for them for 6 months. In the second episode, Sher Khan married another woman who later approached Nabeel telling him she loves him and saying that she will shoot Sher Khan and Khoobsurat, forcing Nabeel to marry her after she divorced Sher Khan. Sher Khan thinks that Ghulbaght, his new wife, loves him but it is revealed both came up with the idea to shoot Nabeel. Episode 3 (saw a ghost) In this episode, they saw a ghost while sleeping. They awoke and came running outside. The next day they called a man who would make the ghost go away, but the ghost and the man were acting together. They were robbers. The man first ate food saying he has no power and ate all the food, after which the girl they saw at night came. They screamed and ran into the house. The girl pretended kindness. She said she had prepared some food. They all and were asleep for 1 hour. When they woke up they had nothing; all their things had been stolen. Cast and characters Main * Nabeel as Nabeel * Ayesha Omar as Khoobsurat (Nabeel's wife) * Mehmood Aslam as Mehmood Sahab * Hina Dilpazeer as Mumtaz (Momo) (Mehmood Sahab's wife) * Faatima Nabeel as Chandi (Nabeel and Khoobsurat's daughter) * Nyle Rizwan as Sona (Mehmood and Mumtaz's son) Recurring * Tariq Butt as Butt Sahab (2009–present) * Khawaja Akmal as Siddiqui (Khoobsurat's father) (2009–2017) * Benita David as Baytab (2012–2015) * Shahid Khawaja as Dr. Shahid612 (2013–2017) * Shehraz Hassan as Moti (kidnapper) (2010–2015) * Ayaz Khan as Sher Khan (Mehmood's friend) (2012–2017) * Faizan Shahzad Khan as Faizi Sun (2010-2015) Guest appearances * Aijaz Aslam as Rosho; Nabeel's deceased father (2011–2014) * Shamoon Abbasi as Afzal (2013) *Nayyar Ejaz as Nayyar Bhai (brother-in-law of Mehmood Sahab) (2010–2012) *Shagufta Ejaz as Hajra Appa (Sister of Mehmood Sahab) (2010) *Reema Khan on Eid Special *Zuhab Khan as Zeeshan, a child lost in a market whom Momo took with her *Irfan Motiwala as a thief, in Ramadan Episode 160, and, in another episode, as kidnapper of Mehmood (2012–2013) *Maqsood Hassan as devil in Ramadan in episode 163 and 233, and in another episode as a don (2011–2013) and as a magician and in another episode. *Ashraf Khan as Momo's father who appeared in many episodes of Bulbulay. He also came as a magician and a doctor in two different episodes. (2009–2015) *Badar Khalil as Momo's mother who appeared in many episodes of Bulbulay (2010–2014) *Faysal Qureshi as himself (2009–2012) *Saleem Miraj as Abdul Kareem (plumber) (2010–2013) * Sadia Ghaffar as Janan (Khubsurat's friend) (2013) * Sonia Rao as Chanda (sales girl) (2013–2017) *Sofia Ahmed as Pari (2013) *Rashid Farooqui as Canadian immigration agent (Shamim Gora) (2011) *'Faizan Shahzad Khan' as Faizi Sun Ep274 - 297 (2010-2015) * Nasir Sharif as thief in episode 430 (2012–2016) *Ismail Tara as Ibn e Battutta Jinn, in many episodes, and in another episode as a detective (2013–2014) *Behroze Sabzwari as Muqqaddar (Momo's fiancee) in episodes 65 and 163 (2011–2012) *Mohsin Raza Gillani as a friend of Javed Sahab (2013) * Dodi Khan as Kalia (2016–2017) *Marhaba Sheikh as Masoom (2017) *M Saleem as Qazi (2016–2017) *Arif Siddiqui as agent of poor location (2013–2017) *Shehnaz Pervaiz as momo sister in ep 156 (2012–2016) *Haneef Bachan as Javed Sahab (2014–2016) *Kauser Siddiqui as Nabeel's girlfriend in ep 354, and in ep 445 as Siddiqui's lawyer (2015–2016) *Munir Ahmad on Eid ul Azha special, episode 318, as Qasim, a thief who came to take a goat because it had eaten his diamond (2014) * Hanif Awan as a police inspector in ep 314 (2014) * Javeria Abbasi as Nabeel's kidnapper (2010–2013) * Fazal Baltistani as anwar kana in episode 379 (2011–2017) * Shahab Khan (2014–2017) * Anum Aqeel as Sonia in EP 453 (2015–2017) * Hafeez Ali as khawaja sira (2009) * Agha Sheraz as arabpati beta in ep 15 (2009–2015) * Mehboob Sultan as Jagu Dada (2012–2016) * Umair Laghari as Khobsourat's cousin Tomy (2014–2015) * Ghulam Mehdi (2015) * Aadi adeal amjad as Bayqarar (2015) * Obaid khan (2010–2015) * Sara omar as malka (2011) * Masoodi (2010–2011) * Master Zohaib as another child lost mehmood sahab took her (2010) * Bahadur sheikh as Jagu dada punter (2009–2016) * Adnan Shah Tipu as nabeel ferind in ep 168 (2009–2016) * Amber khan as nabeel girlfriend in ep 70 (2011) * Naeem Sheikh as Khobsourat's uncle in ep 41 (2010–2012) * Aslam rana as baba (2010–2011) Other appearances * 2009 (Tauseef ali) * 2010 (Shahid 612) (Shearaz Hassan) (Tauseef Ali) (Waqas javed) (Shahzad Khan) (Ilyas nadeem) (Tariq Butt) (Naeem Sheikh) (Khawaja Akmal) (Hafees Ali) * 2011 (Naeem Sheikh) (Waqas Javed) (Bahadur Sheikh) (Shahzad Khan) (Aslam Rana) (Obaid Khan) (Tariq Butt) (Shearaz Hassan) (Shahid 612) (Masoodi) (Hafees Ali) * 2012 (Maqsood Hassan) (Agha Shearaz) (Hafees Ali) (Shahzad Khan) (Irfan Motiwala) (Qasim Latif) (Ilyas Nadeem) (Nasir Sharif) (Khawaja Saleem) (Ashraf Khan) * 2013 (Mohoroom Ramzan) (Ilyas Nadeem) (Ismil Tara) (Ayaz Khan) (Fazal Baltistani) (Shahzad Khan) (Maqsoood Hassan) (Hafeez Ali) (Obaid Khan) (Nasir Sharif) (Manzoor Quearashi) * 2014 (Shahzad Khan)(Shahid 612) (Shahbab Khan) (Haneef Bachan) (Nasir Sharif) (Hafeez ali) (Urooj Aabas) (Ayaz Khan) (Manzoor Quearashi) (Arif Siddiqi) (Bahadur Sheikh) (Fazal Baltistani) (Mehboob Sultan) (Waseem Dhamia) * 2015 (Shahzad Khan) (Umair Laghari) (Fazal Baltistani) (Ghulaam Mehdi) (Nasir Sharif) (Arif Siddiqi) (Akbar Khan) (Shahbab Khan) (Irfan Motiwala) (Urooj Aabas) (Hafeez Ali) * 2016 (Naveed Raza) (Haneef Bachan) (Irfan Motiwala) (Ayaz Khan) (Khawaja Saleem) (Fazal Baltistani) (Zufliqar Sheikh) (Ayaz Khan) (Arif Siddiqi) * 2017 (Dodi Khan) (Ayaz Khan) (Nasir Sharif) (Tariq Butt) (Shahbab Khan) (Shahid 612) (Arif Siddiqi) (Urooj AAbas) (Khawaja Akmal) (Akbar Khan) By occupation *Plumber : Hafeez Ali (2009) episode 3 Saleem Maraj (2013) episode 239 * Faizi Sun Jaggu dada Punter : Faizan Shahzad Khan (2015) episode 274 - 297 *Nabeel's girlfriends: Nousheen Shah (2009) episode 5 Javeria Abbasi (2009) episode 10 Nashata Ali (2010) ep 18 Sara (2010) ep 40 Amber Khan (2011) ep 71 Aysha (2011) ep 85 Mahjabeen Habib (2011) Jahan Aara (2012) Sonia Rao (2013) Anum Aqeel (2015) Reception Bulbulay achieved the highest-ever rating of a Pakistani comedy series, with a rating of 8.0 TRPs (Television Rating Points), which is more than any other Pakistani comedy drama. It has a current rating of 7.8/10 on IMDb. Bulbulay also won the "Best Sitcom" award for three consecutive years, from 2010 to 2012, at the Pakistan Media Awards. Due to its popularity, the series is shown in other countries, including the UK; and soon it will be aired in India on the Zee Zindagi channel. See also * List of programs broadcast by ARY Digital References External links * * Watch All Episodes of Bulbulay * Category:Pakistani television sitcoms Category:Pakistani drama television series Category:Comedy-drama television series Category:Urdu-language television programs Category:Television shows set in Karachi Category:ARY Digital television series Category:2009 Pakistani television series debuts Category:2000s Pakistani television series Category:2010s Pakistani television series